One of the most popular animal traps in use today is what is referred to as the two-jaw flat set trap. This trap basically comprises two opposed jaws which are spring-loaded to snap together when the trap is tripped to catch the leg of an animal therebetween. It is called the flat trap from the fact that the jaws in the cocked position are pulled apart and are releasably locked about 180.degree. apart, such that the jaws are roughly coplanar. This provides a low profile for the trap, and enables it to be more easily hidden under brush, or more typically, buried in soil.
Although this type of trap has achieved widespread use, it has always had several disadvantages. One significant disadvantage is that the trap is entirely "open" in use. That is, any animal coming upon the trap, such as a hunting dog, can step onto and trip the trap and get caught therein. The inadvertent trapping of dogs has, in fact, been a significant problem with the flat trap.
The bait used with this type of trap is also completely exposed. It is thus subject to degradation from sun and rain. More importantly, the bait can be stolen from the trap, as by birds or rodents which are too small to be captured therein.
The flat set trap must also be placed on the ground, or buried under the soil. This has two immediate disadvantages. First, where the trap is buried in the soil, it is subject to being "frozen in". That is, should the covering soil freeze, the trap can thereby also be locked open by the frozen soil, rendering it inoperative. Secondly, the trap lacks versatility in that it only can be used on the ground, and only in an upright position. Tree climbing animals, such as raccoons, must therefore be captured on the ground, where the trap is, of course, subject to being sprung by other animals which a trapper may not desire to capture.
The principal object of this invention is to provide a more versatile trap which can be set for use in a variety of positions and locations, and which does not have an exposed trap mechanism which can be tripped by unwanted prey, such as dogs, but rather has a restricted access to the trip mechanism to thereby prevent such unwanted captures.
Another objective of the invention is to provide such an enclosed animal trap with a setting mechanism which can be operated exterior to the trap to set the trip mechanism.
These objectives, and others, have been accomplished in this invention through the provision of an animal trap which has a novel trip mechanism which is enclosed by a housing having an opening therein through which the animal must reach to get the bait. Access to the trip mechanism can thus be limited by proper sizing of the opening to only those animals which are small enough to reach through the hole. If the hole is sized for a paw, for example, a reaching motion is required to access the bait, and the trap is readily adapted for the capture of dexterous animals, such as raccoons, to the exclusion of inadvertent capture of dogs which generally lack the ability to insert a paw through the opening. Sizing of the opening thus limits the type of prey which can be captured by the trap. Because the trap is enclosed, the bait is also protected from environmental degradation as well as theft of the bait by birds and larger rodents.
Significantly, the trap of this invention can be set in a desired position or location. That is, the trap can be placed in any orientation on the ground, such as on its side, or can be placed in a tree and still function. Because the trap is enclosed, it does not have to be hidden by burying, thus obviating "freeze in" of the trip mechanism.
The trip mechanism of this invention has a pair of arms which are each pivotally mounted on a base of the housing, each arm having a free end forming a jaw. The jaws are opposed, with the arms being arranged relative to one another so that they are pivotable between a jaws closed position, in which the arms are pivoted toward one another and the jaws are urged toward engagement, and a jaws open position in which the arms are pivoted away from one another with the jaws spaced apart.
The arms are driven together to forcibly close the jaws by a spring-loaded drive frame which is mounted to slide along a pair of spaced apart vertical posts which extend through the housing base. In a present form, the drive frame has a pair of opposed struts which extend between a pair of mounts, or blocks, which slide along the vertical posts. The opposed struts form a rigid band around the jaw arms.
Extending between the struts adjacent the blocks are a pair of drive rods which contact the arms carrying the trap jaws. When the trap is tripped, the spring-loaded drive frame is driven along the vertical posts to an end position. The rods on the drive frame in turn advance along a surface of each arm, which, in the jaws open position, are angled outwardly relative to the plane of movement of the drive members. As the rods move upward, they drive the angled arms together, closing the trap jaws.
The trip mechanism of the trap includes a collapsible hinged linkage which is pivotally connected at each end to the jaw arms and extends between the arms. The linkage operates on an over-center principle such that it will lock the arms in the jaws open position when arranged on-center or over-center, and will release the arms when placed in an under-center position, as by movement of the linkage hinge point by an animal paw.
In a present form, the trip mechanism linkage has two links each of which is connected to a pivot on a respective arm. The two links are further pivotally connected together at a central hinge point with one link having a free end portion. This free end portion bears against a surface provided on the other link when the links are in an over-center position, thereby locking the linkage in place to keep the arms apart. This over-center position is maintained by the load placed on the links from the drive frame which, in the cocked position, applies a force on the arms which urges the arms together, thereby putting a compression force on the linkage.
A bait pan is provided on one of the links. When an animal reaches through the housing opening and contacts the bait in the pan, the pan is rocked or pushed downwardly, causing the links to move an under-center position, where the linkage collapses. This frees the arms to forcibly move toward each other under the action of the driven frame, snapping the jaws together.
The sensitivity of the hinged trip mechanism is advantageously made adjustable through the use of a screw extending through the free end of one link. In this form of the invention, the over-center position can be adjusted by moving the screw toward or away from the other link.
Cocking of the trap mechanism is accomplished exterior to the trap housing. The vertical posts on which the drive frame slides extend through the base of the housing, as previously noted. The ends of the posts exterior to the base are connected by a handle. To cock the trip mechanism, the trap is first turned upside down and the handle is grasped and drawn away from the base. This draws the vertical posts from the housing, which in turn pulls the drive frame against the spring-load and toward the base. Since the drive frame drive rods no longer force the arms together, the arms are thereby free to move apart under the force of gravity and the weight of the hinged linkage and bait pan. The links thereby drop into their over-center position under their own weight, where they are maintained locked upon release of the handle, which places the arms under load via the drive frame. A simple and reliable cocking mechanism is thus provided.
The foregoing objectives and advantages of this invention will be made more readily apparent upon reference to the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which: